


One Has to Wonder

by quixilvr



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: (there's going to be so much fluff), Depression, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:48:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28560075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quixilvr/pseuds/quixilvr
Summary: There's a farm in Stardew Valley taken over by the forest, and a farmer willing to work to make things grow. Shane is by turn suspicious and intrigued.
Relationships: Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	One Has to Wonder

**Author's Note:**

> Fallen back into a Stardew addiction and back in love with Shane, of course. Enjoy another Shane/Farmer fic, which will eventually be a fluffy mess, but we're taking a bit of time to get there first.

Shane hears too much about her before he sees her.

Pelican Town may be “the jewel of Stardew Valley” or whatever the mayor likes to say, but it’s not exactly a bustling hub of excitement or anything. The last time someone new came to town was when that pretentious Fabio look-alike strolled off the bus and shacked up in a literal shack on the beach last year. So naturally, everyone’s been talking about the new farmer, to the point that even Shane can’t avoid hearing about them. In fact, Marnie had cornered him in the kitchen that very morning to tell him about the new owner of the run-down farmland to the north, and had added in no uncertain terms that the neighbourly thing to do would be to go introduce himself to her and _be nice._

Shane had resolved not to give a shit, but evidently the rest of the townsfolk have nothing better to do with their time than gossip. He overhears Jodi and Caroline chatting in the town square on his way to work -- something something _farmer_ something something. Even the saloon, once he’s finally finished another soul-crushing shift, isn’t safe.

“Did you hear about the new farmer?” asks Emily as she pushes another beer across the bar.

“Yeah,” Shane replies curtly, taking a swig. It’s only his second of the evening, and he is currently far too sober for any kind of conversation, let alone one more about that goddamn farmer.

Emily is leaning her elbows on the bartop and smiling dreamily - she doesn’t appear to notice his reluctance to engage. “I met her in the square earlier today. She seems like such a sweetheart! I really felt this positive energy from her. Don’t you think it’s so nice to have someone new in town, Shane?”

He can’t help but laugh darkly at that. “There’s got to be something wrong with her if she’s moved to this shithole out of her own free will.”

Emily’s smile flickers. “Don’t be like that, Shane,” she says, a reproachful look in her eye. “Maybe you’ll like her.”

The idea hangs in the air for a moment, before Shane shakes his head roughly. “Nah,” he says, setting the newly empty glass down between them. Emily silently grabs it and moves to draw him another pint. When she returns, her reproachful expression has been replaced with a familiar look of concern, but she doesn’t push further, just hands him his drink and tells him to let Gus know if he needs anything.

Shane leaves the saloon that night less stumbling-drunk than usual, which is something of a disappointment. The air outside is biting, still carrying the last remnants of the past winter; his Joja-brand hoodie isn’t nearly warm enough to protect him from the shock of cold, but he shoves his hands deep in its pockets anyway. There’s a sour taste on his tongue - if he was more of a poetic type, he’d say it tastes like regret and wasted dreams, some bullshit like that, but being a practical guy at the heart of it, he knows he’s just on the wrong side of buzzed. There’s a bottle shoved to the bottom of a sock drawer in his room calling out to him.

He hears footsteps, suddenly, as he’s wandering across the square. He might have thought he was hearing things, but they’re too distinct, a clumping sound of heavy boots. Shane looks up, towards Pierre’s shop, into the darkness. There’s a figure retreating, too far into the night to make out fully, but they’re on the track towards the old farm.

  


* * *

  


That one glimpse of the farmer’s back as she ran towards home would have been enough for him, but evidently the powers that be are out to get him. Well. He could have told you that already. Shane isn’t religious, per se, but he has a strong feeling that Yoba hates his guts, and honestly, he can’t blame Him.

So of course he meets her officially; it’s inevitable in a town as small as this, but Shane would still prefer to avoid it. It doesn’t help that Marnie keeps asking if he’s introduced himself yet because _she’s just the sweetest thing, Shane._ He’s already made his mind up to hate her, just because she seems to have the rest of the town under her spell.

It’s about a week since he saw her silhouette in the dark that it happens. He’s had a particularly rough day at work; Morris had called him in to talk about his ‘attitude’ -- “Joja prides itself on a helpful and welcoming atmosphere, Shane, and it’s about time you started reflecting that!” -- and a shipment had come in later than expected, leaving him to stock the shelves on overtime. So he’s not exactly in a friendly mood when she runs into him on the bridge. He doesn’t see her coming, too busy focusing on his feet as he traces the path towards the saloon in search of a drink. He does hear her footsteps though, stopping right as a pair of farm boots come into his vision.

“Hi,” she says, forcing him to look up. Shane isn’t the tallest guy, but she’s half a head shorter than even him. Her hair is long and deep red, pulled back from her face in a soft ponytail that’s failing to contain a few flyaway strands. Once, he might have thought of her as pretty, but that line of thinking hasn’t crossed his mind in a long time. She looks up at him with a quizzical expression, and when she holds out a hand, skin on her palms red and fingers blistered, he stares at it; after a moment, she retracts slowly. “I’m Brianna.”

Shane says nothing.

“I moved onto Greengrove Farm recently,” she continues valiantly.

“Uh huh,” Shane grunts, giving her his best glare, and steps around her.

Brianna turns in a circle to follow. “Your name’s Shane, right? Marnie said I should say hi to you.”

 _Can this girl not take a hint?_ “I don’t know you,” Shane says. “So fuck off.”

The farmer girl stops in her tracks, and Shane continues on before he can see her expression and feel bad about it.

The saloon is busy as it normally is on Friday nights; Shane catches Gus’s eye as he enters, takes his usual spot near the fireplace with a pint. This is all he’s been wanting to do all day, but now that he’s here, he finds that he’s still restless. Everyone else is milling about, chatting to their friends -- even Clint, the only guy in town half as antisocial as he is, has struck up a conversation with Willy at a table across the room.

Shane’s whole body aches. He chugs down half of his beer.

Somewhere around drink number four, a new face makes an appearance near the bar. She’s let down her long hair so it swishes around her shoulders, and when she glances in Shane’s direction, her eyes flick away as soon as she catches him looking at her. He takes another pull on his drink, feeling a different set of eyes land on him.

“What?” he snaps at Emily.

The blue-haired woman shakes her head. “I don’t understand you, that’s all.”

Shane sighs, grabs a barstool and pulls it out to sit down. “You’re not special. I don’t understand me either.”

Emily shoots him a sympathetic smile and grabs his glass for a refill when he sets it down. “Last one for the night,” she says, to Shane’s immediate protest. Still, he spends another half an hour or so drinking and chatting idly to Emily whenever she comes over. She’s the closest thing he has to a friend in this town -- not counting Marnie and Jas, who have to put up with him -- and that’s mostly because she brings him beer. But she’s not the worst person in the world, which truly is high praise.

Brianna had taken a spot at Leah and Elliott’s table, but the next time Shane allows himself to glance idly in that direction, she’s gone. He doesn’t know why he feels bad about it.


End file.
